These images of Han Dynasty pottery stoves unearthed in Yan ‘an, the source of exploration, were originally related to ascending to heaven and becoming immortal.

2025年10月17日 | admin | B2

In recent decades, a large number of pottery stoves have been unearthed nationwide, mainly in Guanzhong, Luoyang, Jianghan, Shaanxi and Linyi areas. Since the end of 1990s, a large number of Han tombs have been found in Yan ‘an area of Shaanxi Province, and many pottery stoves have been unearthed, which can be divided into glazed argillaceous red pottery stoves and painted argillaceous gray pottery stoves according to their materials (Figure 1). These pottery stoves are unique in shape, exquisitely made and have regional characteristics. The author selects some representative unpublished pottery stoves from local museums to introduce them, and discusses their types, ages, crafts and symbolic meanings contained in their patterns.

As an appliance for people to make a fire and cook food, the stove appeared as early as the early Neolithic Age and was widely used in Yangshao culture period. In the Warring States period, stoves also evolved from primitive fire pits and movable pottery stoves into fixed pots and pans, which became an indispensable daily living facility for the ancients. As a funerary model, the pottery stove first appeared in the Qin tombs in the late Warring States period in Guanzhong area. In the Han Dynasty, when the concept of "death is like life" prevailed, the pottery stove was further made into a utensil, and it was buried with the pottery barn in a complete set, which became the core of the buried pottery in the tombs of the Han Dynasty and an important carrier of people’s ideas and spiritual world in the Han Dynasty.

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the distribution of pottery stoves unearthed in Yan ‘an area.

Glazed argillaceous red pottery stove

1. Carve the yellow glazed green painted pottery stove with double cranes.

Unearthed in Linzhen, Baota District, Yan ‘an City in 2005. Three-eyed horseshoe. Length 23, width 22.5 and height 22 cm. The fire holes on the stove surface are distributed in the shape of "pin", and a small kettle is placed on it, and the stove kettle is separated. Put a green glazed deep-bellied retort on the right kettle, and put a small pot of red glaze and green color on the other two kettles, with a small spoon of green glaze crank in the pot, and put a small pot of red glaze and green color between two fire holes in the front row. The tail of the stove is a green glaze bottle-shaped hollow chimney. The kitchen utensils and appliances on the kitchen surface can be moved. A rectangular floor-standing fire door is opened just below the front wall of the stove. Two rows of diamond-shaped palisades are carved above the fire door with sharp tools, and a crane standing opposite each other is carved on each side. The knife method is simple and sharp. The stove is covered with yellow glaze, and the diamond pattern and crane pattern are covered with green glaze, which is very decorative (Figure 2).

Fig. 2 depicts the yellow glazed green painted pottery stove with double cranes.

2. Carve the yellow glazed green painted pottery stove with double crane sauce

Unearthed in Nanniwan Town, Baota District, Yan ‘an City in 2007. The shape is the same as the double crane stove mentioned above. Length 25, width 23.5 and height 20 cm. Kettle, basin, spoon and other utensils and hollow bottle-shaped chimney are placed on the stove surface. A diamond-shaped palindrome is carved above the stove door, and a crane standing back to back, holding its head high and looking carefree is carved on each side. The stove is covered with yellow glaze, and the diamond pattern and crane pattern are filled with green glaze (Figure 3).

Fig. 3 depicts the yellow glazed green painted pottery stove with double crane sauce.

3. Carve the pottery stove with double crane lines, yellow brown glaze and green dragon heads.

In 2006, it was unearthed in feng village, Liqu Town, Baota District, Yan ‘an City. The shape is the same as that of the upper two stoves. Length 21, width 22.5 and height 21 cm. Small kettles are placed on the fire holes of the kitchen surface, a yellow glazed deep-bellied retort is placed on the right kettle, and a yellow glazed ear cup is placed in the center of the kitchen surface. A molded dragon-headed chimney is inserted at the end of the stove, which makes the mouth scream, and the details of the dragon’s five senses and neck scales are clear. Two rows of triangular stripes are carved on the front edge of the stove and the upper edge of the front wall, and diamond stripes, triangular stripes and water ripple stripes are carved on the upper part and both sides of the fire door. On both sides of the front wall of the stove, a pair of cranes are carved, which lead their necks to sing and flap their wings to fly. The carving method is concise, skillful and infectious. Yellow-brown glaze is applied all over the stove body, and white glaze is filled with diamond, triangle, water ripple and crane pattern (Figure 4).

Figure 4 depicts the pottery stove and part of the dragon head with yellow, brown, glazed and green dragon heads with double cranes.

4. Carve the pottery stove with double-que red glaze and green dragon head.

In 2008, it was unearthed in Qingquangou Village, Daozhen Town, Ganquan County, Yan ‘an City. Muddy red pottery. Three-eyed horseshoe. Length 21, width 19 and height 20 cm. A cauldron is placed on the fire eye, with a small red glazed crank spoon in the cauldron, and a large red glazed retort is placed on the right side of the cauldron, with strings on the upper abdomen for several weeks. Place red glazed pots, red glazed green colored vials, small jars and inverted red glazed ear cups on the kitchen surface. A diamond-shaped stripe is carved on the front edge of the stove, and a molded red glazed green colored dragon chimney is inserted in the round hole at the tail of the stove. The dragon head is raised, its eyes are wide open, its mouth screams, and its shape is fierce. A rectangular hollow fire door is opened in the middle and lower part of the front wall of the stove. A pair of triangular pyramidal roof towers are carved on both sides of the fire door, and triangular patterns and grid patterns are carved on the upper part. The stove is covered with red glaze, and the pavilion and triangular pattern are outlined with green glaze, and the glaze water is bright and full. It is worth mentioning that a layer of black glaze is added to the red bottom glaze on the small kettle on the left side of the front of the stove, which is more special (Figure 5).

Fig. 5 depicts the red glazed green painted pottery stove with double que pattern and the dragon head.

5. Painted double-que sauce, red glaze and green painted pottery stove

In 2007, it was unearthed in Nanyigou Village, Daozhen Town, Ganquan County, Yan ‘an City. The shape is the same as that of the stove. Length 20, width 19 and height 16 cm. Kettle, basin, retort, jar, ladle, ear cup and bottle-shaped chimney are placed on the stove surface, and the net pattern is carved above the fire door. Red glaze is applied to the whole body of the stove, green glaze is applied to both sides of the fire door to draw simplified double-gap patterns, and green glaze is applied to the retort, jar, basin, ear cup and chimney mouth (Figure 6).

Fig. 6 Red glazed stove with green color and double que sauce.

6. Tri-color glazed pottery stove with geometric patterns

In 2004, it was unearthed in Yangquan Town, Fu County, Yan ‘an City. Muddy red pottery, horseshoe-shaped with double fire eyes. Length 17, width 19 and height 13 cm. A small kettle is placed on the fire hole of the stove surface, and two small pots are placed at the back of the stove surface. A crank spoon and a straight handle ladle are placed in the pots, and a small ear cup is inverted at the front. The kettle, pots, spoons and scoops are all painted with yellow glaze. A bottle-shaped chimney is erected at the end of the stove, with yellow glaze applied at the lower part and green glaze applied at the upper part. A rectangular hollow fire door is opened in the middle and lower part of the front wall of the stove, and grid lines are carved on both sides of the fire door and the upper part of the front wall, and diamond-shaped back lines are carved between the grid lines. The stove is glazed in three colors, red glaze is applied to the whole stove body, black glaze is applied to the grid pattern on the front wall, and green glaze is applied to the diamond pattern. Glazed pottery with double glaze color in Han dynasty is rare, and it is rare to apply red, green and black glaze colors to this stove (Figure 7).

Fig. 7 Tri-color glazed pottery stove with geometric patterns.

Two-colored argillaceous gray pottery stove

1. Moire painted pottery stove

In 2010, it was unearthed in Frontier Village, Laoshan Township, Ganquan County, Yan ‘an City. Three fire eyes rounded rectangle. Length 22.5, width 20 and height 19 cm. The fire holes on the kitchen surface are distributed in the shape of "pin", and the kitchen bottom is closed. The stove is a combination of stove and kettle. The kettle is higher than the stove surface, and the mouth edge is painted red and white for two weeks. A pot and a retort are placed on the kettle, and the mouth edge and abdomen of the pot and retort are painted in red and white. The tubular chimney is plastic at the end of the stove, which is slightly disabled. Around the kitchen surface, the flaming eye is edged with white and red colors, and a circle of moire is drawn, in which plum patterns are dotted. A hollow rectangular fire door is opened in the middle of the front wall of the stove, and the wall is decorated with red and white dots. White, blue, red and yellow moire are painted on both sides and back wall of the stove. This stove is well preserved, with complicated patterns and bright colors (Figure 8).

Fig. 8 moire painted pottery stove

2. Group crane painted pottery stoves

Unearthed in Zichang County, Yan ‘an City in 2008. Horseshoe-shaped stove with three fire eyes. Length 21, width 21 and height 22 cm. The fire eyes on the kitchen surface are distributed in the shape of "pin" The kettle and stove are separated, wherein a crank spoon is built in each kettle, and the kettle and spoon are cut by hand. The rectangular hollow fire door is opened in the middle and lower part of the front wall of the pottery stove, and the fire door and the front wall are painted with diamond, dot and stripe colors in red, white and Huang San colors respectively. The most distinctive feature of this cooker lies in the painted patterns on its side and back wall: in the cloud patterns painted with yellow, 12 cranes with different shapes and white feathers are playing with each other, either holding their heads high, standing still and looking back, or bending their necks and pecking their tails, or competing for food. The old cranes are flying with colors, and the young cranes are weak and lovely. The expression of the whole picture is rich and exaggerated, giving people infinite reverie, which can be called a masterpiece of fine arts in the Han Dynasty (Figure 9).

Fig. 9 Group of crane-painted stoves

3. Wolong-shaped painted pottery stove

In 2006, it was unearthed in Hongtugou Village, Donggou Township, Ganquan County, Yan ‘an City. The stove body was shaped into the image of a prostrate and head-held round carved Wolong, with a dragon as the stove body, a chimney with a dragon neck and a dragon head, a mouth-opening hissing shape and a broken dragon horn. The limbs are located on both sides of the stove body in a prone position, and the dragon claws are molded. Length 36, width 22.5 and height 23 cm. The three fire holes on the kitchen surface open in the back of the dragon, which are distributed in a zigzag pattern, and the kettle is integrated with the kitchen. The kettle is taller than the kitchen surface, the tail kettle is taller, and the front kettle is short. The square floor-standing fire door is opened in the middle and lower part of the front wall. The whole body of the stove is painted in white, and the "S"-shaped scales are painted in red and black. The dragon mouth, eyes and ears are painted in red, and the wings are painted in red and black on both sides of the dragon body. The stove door is bordered with red and black colors. This dragon-shaped stove is exquisitely made and ornately decorated. At present, this kind of pottery stove which shapes the stove body into the image of a carved animal has not been reported in China (Figure 10).

Figure 10 Wolong-shaped painted stove

4. Bird-patterned rectangular painted pottery stoves with feet

In 2009, it was unearthed in Guanzhuang Township, Baota District, Yan ‘an City. Three fire holes are rectangular, with a back cover and four flat square feet at the bottom. Length 28, width 24.5 and height 23 cm. The fire holes on the stove surface are distributed in the shape of "pin", and the kettle and stove are integrated, and the kettle height is higher than the stove surface. A thin cylindrical chimney is molded at the end of the stove. The rectangular fire door opens in the center of the front wall. The stove body is painted with yellow color, and the four sides of the stove surface and sides are painted with white color strips, and the geometric patterns of the strips and the fire door are painted with red. On the left side of the kitchen wall, two waterfowl are painted, both of which bend their necks and bow their heads, opening their mouths and sticking out their tongues. The former one is decorated with white and the latter with red, and the image is simple and interesting (Figure 11).

Figure 11 Rectangular painted stove with bird pattern

5. Painted pottery stoves with crane figures

Unearthed in yongningzhen, Zhidan County, Yan ‘an City in 2009. Three-eyed horseshoe. Length 22, width 19.5 and height 11 cm. Fire holes are distributed in the shape of "pin", and the kettle and stove are integrated. The kettle height is higher than the stove surface, and the left kettle is smaller. On the right side of the stove surface, the pattern of hook and ladle is printed, and a small smoke hole is opened at the tail. The floor-standing fire door is opened in the middle and lower part of the front wall of the stove. The stove body is painted with white color, the kettle mouth is painted with green color, the kettle body is painted with black color, and the edge of the stove surface is painted with black grid for a week. On both sides of the fire door on the front wall of the stove, people are painted in green robes and stand hand in hand. A tree is painted in ink in the middle of the back of the kitchen wall, and three cranes walking in the same direction are painted in black on both sides of the tree. The brushwork is concise and vivid, which is full of interest (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Painted stoves with crane figures.

6. Painted pottery stoves with figure patterns

Unearthed in Zhaoan Township, Ansai County, Yan ‘an City in 2011. The shape is similar to that of the upper focus. Length 22, width 20 and height 12.5 cm. A row of diamond-shaped palisades is embossed above the floor-standing fire door, and a que building pattern is embossed on both sides of the fire door. The stove is covered with white color, and a person is painted on the right side of the fire door, dressed in a light green robe and holding a rod. The pattern on the left side of the fire door is blurred. Draw a chalk line figure at each end of the side wall of the stove, and on the left is a man, dressed in a robe, sitting quietly. On the right is a woman sitting with a hand on her hand, and the rest of her body draws a set of cloud patterns with ink lines (Figure 13).

Figure 1. Three-character painted stoves

7. Cloudy painted pottery stoves

Unearthed in Gao Qiao Township, Ansai County, Yan ‘an City in 2010. Muddy gray pottery, the shape is the same as above. Length 23, width 20 and height 10 cm. The whole body of the stove is painted with white color, and the upper part of the four walls is marked with red and black colors, and the bottom is painted with lotus petals for a week. In the middle, six groups of cloud patterns are painted with red and green colors, with bright colors (Figure 14).

Fig. 14 Moire pattern painting stove

Regional characteristics and age of ceramic stoves in San ‘an.

From the above introduction and the information currently available, it can be seen that the pottery stoves unearthed in Yan ‘an area of northern Shaanxi mainly include glazed pottery and gray pottery, among which glazed pottery stoves account for a certain proportion, with red and yellow warm glazes as the main glaze colors, and green glazes are rare, and the rich multicolor glazes are a major feature, and even three-color glazes appear, which is rare in other areas. These glazed pottery stoves are relatively simple in shape, with horseshoe-shaped stoves as the bulk, and the three fire holes on the stove surface are mostly in the shape of "pin", and a few are side by side. There are two kinds of fire doors: floor type and hollow type, with hollow type as the main one. The stove and kettle are multi-split. All kinds of kitchenware models on the kitchen surface are rich in variety and complete in configuration, including retort, basin, plate, jar, bottle, ladle, spoon and ear cup, and most of them can be moved, which is a true portrayal of real life, which is rarely seen in other regions and presents distinctive local characteristics.

There are a large number of gray pottery stoves unearthed in Yan ‘an. Except for a few square stoves and irregular stoves, like glazed pottery stoves, their shapes are mainly horseshoe-shaped, but most of them are connected with stoves and kettles. Fire doors are mainly floor-mounted Developed painting is a remarkable feature of Yan ‘an Han Dynasty gray pottery stove, with bright colors and complicated patterns, especially the painting of animals and figures on the pottery stove, which has its own characteristics, while the practice of molding the pottery stove into a whole round carving animal is only seen in China.

The distinctive regional characteristics of the above pottery stoves should be related to the special geographical location of Yan’ an. Yan ‘an is located in the south of northern Shaanxi, bordering Hetao in the north and Guanzhong in the south. Since ancient times, it has been a place where the northern grassland culture and the farming culture of the Central Plains are integrated. By the Qin and Han Dynasties, Yan ‘an was a county jurisdiction and became a transitional zone connecting the northern frontier and the imperial ruling center. The combination of advanced production technology and ideas in the mainland with the original local cultural traditions has formed a unique cultural phenomenon here. These Han Dynasty pottery stoves unearthed in Yan ‘an area are unique in shape, novel in decoration and distinctive in regional characteristics, which should be the concrete embodiment of this cultural phenomenon.

Because this batch of pottery stoves were handed in or collected after being unearthed in people’s production activities, most of the tomb information is missing, so their age is mainly judged according to the shape, decorative characteristics and some of the same artifacts. Judging from the shape of the pottery stoves in Yan’ an area, horseshoe-shaped stoves are the main ones, and three fire holes are distributed in the shape of "pin" on the stove surface. This shape of pottery stoves was mainly popular in the early and middle Western Han Dynasty in Guanzhong area. In particular, the colorful painted pottery stoves with group crane patterns introduced above have the same length and width and a small aspect ratio, which are even consistent with those of the Qin Dynasty pottery stoves in Guanzhong area. The age may be as early as the end of Qin Dynasty and the beginning of Han Dynasty, and may enter the early Western Han Dynasty due to the lag of cultural communication. From the point of view of decoration, the proportion of glazed pottery in Yan ‘an area is high, while the popularity of glazed pottery in Guanzhong area is earlier than that in the middle of Western Han Dynasty, and because of the lag of cultural communication, the popularity of glazed pottery in Yan ‘an area has at least entered the middle and late Western Han Dynasty. In addition, various kitchenware models are popular on Yan ‘an glazed pottery stoves, and similar practices are mainly popular in Guanzhong area from the late Western Han Dynasty to the Xinmang period. The difference is that Guanzhong pottery stoves directly print kitchenware on the stoves instead of placing model kitchenware. This difference is caused by different regions, and their ages should be similar. From the perspective of the same artifacts, in Yan ‘an area, there are mainly artifacts with the basic combination of ding, pot-like bronze wares, warehouse and stove models, cans, bottles, lamps, fuming stoves and other daily necessities, but there are no common artifacts after the Eastern Han Dynasty, such as wells, toilets, buildings, figurines, pigsty and millstones. The main popular age of this combination should be from the middle and late Western Han Dynasty to the Xinmang period. As can be seen from the above analysis,Tao Zao in Yan ‘an area appeared in the early Western Han Dynasty, and was popular in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty. It may disappear around Xinmang at the latest.

Production, decoration technology and artistic features

(a) the production process

According to the author’s observation, Yan ‘an Han dynasty pottery stoves were made by using block molding, bonding, kneading, wheel making, knife cutting and other technologies. For this horseshoe-shaped, rectangular hollow three-dimensional stove and the Wolong-shaped pottery stove described above, because of its complex structure, it is impossible to form it at one time. Instead, it is necessary to use a special mold to make mud blanks of various parts of the pottery stove in blocks, and then combine and bond them. Some kitchen accessories are also molded, such as dragon-shaped chimneys, ear cups and small scoops. The kneading technique is applied to some small kitchen utensils on the stove, such as small plates, pots and crank spoons on glazed pottery stoves. And those larger pots, retort, cans and chimneys have obvious marks of wheel system, which should be made of wheel system. Knife-cutting technology is a major feature of the production of pottery figurines in the Han Dynasty in northern Shaanxi, and it is also reflected in the production of pottery stoves in this area. For example, the production of the kettle and crank spoon in the painted pottery stoves with crane patterns described above is a combination of kneading and knife-cutting techniques. First, the rough shape is kneaded, and then the shape is trimmed and shaped by knife cutting.

(2) Decoration technology

Yan ‘an Han Dynasty pottery stoves are rich in decorative techniques, including glazing, painting, carving, sculpture, stamping and so on. Especially in the decoration of glazed pottery stoves, advanced decoration techniques such as monochrome glaze, multi-color glaze, carved glaze filling and overlapping glaze painting are used, which are rich in color and strong in contrast, and the decoration effect is refreshing, making them a masterpiece of glazed pottery products in Han Dynasty. The glaze application technology of multi-color glaze is the biggest feature of glazed pottery production in Yan ‘an area, that is, two or more glaze colors are applied to a pottery at the same time, which represents the highest level of glaze application technology of glazed pottery in Han Dynasty. This decorative technique has also been fully used in the production of glazed pottery stoves. There are not only two-color glazes, but also three glaze colors of red, green and black applied to an object at the same time, which has become a veritable "three colors of Chinese". Carving and filling glaze refers to carving patterns first, and then filling them with glaze, which has a strong contrast and prominent theme, such as the crane pattern and geometric pattern decoration in the double crane pattern stove introduced above, which may be inspired by the bronze mosaic technology. Overlapping glaze painting refers to the decorative method of drawing various patterns and ornamentation on warm bottom glaze with green decorative glaze, such as red glaze and green double-que pattern stove, and double-que and grid pattern drawn with green glaze on sauce red bottom glaze, which has great color contrast and good decorative effect. Painting is the main decorative technique of Yan’ an Han dynasty gray pottery stoves. On the one hand, these paintings are exquisite in decoration and rich in content, including cloud patterns, animal patterns, geometric patterns and figure patterns. On the other hand, it is colorful and varied, including red, white, black, yellow, green and blue. Some directly paint patterns on the clay tires, such as the above-mentioned pottery stoves 1 and 2. Others apply white color all over the body first,Then paint on the white color, such as gray pottery stove 3, stove 5 to stove 7, whose exquisite richness is rare in other areas.

(3) Artistic features

The combination of realism and virtuality is one of the artistic features of Yan ‘an Han Dynasty pottery stoves. Most of the glazed pottery stoves here are equipped with a complete set of kitchen utensils, such as kettle, retort, basin, jar, spoon and ear cup, which can reach as many as ten pieces at most, and the richness is beyond imagination. These utensils, regardless of their size, are accurate in shape and exquisite in manufacture. They are completely true imitations of cookers and kitchenware in real life, allowing us to see the configuration and combination of Han kitchenware, and the application of multicolor glaze decoration makes them a rare ancient miniature art. While being realistic, depicting the images of cranes and Quelou on both sides of the stove door should not be a simple description of the real world, but it has special ideological significance as the virtual practice of shaping the pottery stove chimney into a dragon’s head.

The coexistence of roughness and delicacy is another artistic feature of Yan ‘an Han Dynasty pottery stove. Using a knife instead of a pen, the grid pattern, diamond pattern, triangle pattern and crane pattern are carved on the wall of the glazed pottery stove. The knife method is vigorous and sharp, and the carved cranes have different shapes, or they are screaming or flapping their wings, and the picture is concise and powerful, which is extremely infectious. On the other hand, the clouds, figures and cranes on the painted pottery stove have smooth lines, delicate descriptions and vivid images.

Imagination and exaggeration are another artistic feature of Yan ‘an Han Dynasty pottery stoves. For example, the painted group of crane-patterned pottery stoves painted 12 cranes with different shapes and sizes on the narrow kitchen wall are full of interest and imagination. The description of the shape of the crane is bold and exaggerated, focusing on the slender and curved neck of the crane, which provides important information for us to study the painting level and skills of the Han Dynasty. The Wolong-shaped painted pottery stove introduced in the above article is even more imaginative in shaping a daily appliance into a round carved beast and applying exquisite painting, which is amazing.

The Meaning of Double Que Pattern and Crane Pattern on Five Pottery Stove

A pair of que Lou patterns are often carved, painted or embossed on both sides of the fire doors of glazed pottery stoves and gray pottery stoves unearthed in Yan ‘an, which is very rare in other areas. Quelou is a high-rise building located on both sides of the gate of an important building in ancient China. It is a sign of the gate. It should imply some special symbolic significance to depict it on both sides of the fire gate of the pottery stove. The Han Dynasty portrait bricks unearthed in Henan and the portrait sarcophagus found in Sichuan and Chongqing often show the double que pattern, and most of them coexist with the auspicious animals such as cranes, phoenixes and four gods, the sun, the moon, Fuxi, Nuwa and the Queen Mother of the West, and their images are similar to the double que on Yan ‘an pottery stoves. Some scholars believe that these double-que patterns are the "Tianmen" symbols leading to the fairy palace and the only way for the tomb owner to ascend to heaven and become immortal. The double-que pattern on the right wall of No.3 sarcophagus unearthed from Hanya Tomb in Guitou, Shandong Province, Jianyang County, Sichuan Province provides an important basis for this speculation. A single-eave double-que door is carved on the sarcophagus, and there is a person standing under the door. The word "Tianmen" is listed above the lintel, and the door with double-que is clearly called Tianmen. In the same way, the double que and rectangular fire gate on both sides of the fire gate of the pottery stove in Yan ‘an Han Dynasty and the geometric patterns above them together constitute the image of "Tianmen", which becomes the entrance for the tomb owner to ascend to heaven and become immortal. The soul of the tomb owner enters through the fire gate depicting the que building and turns into curled smoke rising from the chimney with the dragon head and flying to the fairy palace.

Crane pattern is also a more common image on Yan ‘an pottery stove, which is located in the same position as Shuangque pattern or on the side wall of the stove. In China’s Taoist thought, cranes are sacred objects in the celestial world, and immortals travel in the sky with cranes. Legend of the Immortals says, "Wang Ziqiao, Prince Jin Ye of Zhou Lingwang, a good blowing sheng, worked as Fengming, and traveled between Ilo, where Taoist Fuqiu was connected to Songshan. More than ten years later, I came to the mountain and told Huan Liang: Tell my family, and wait for the solution of Gou’s hill on July 7. If you take a white crane to the top of the mountain, you can’t see it. When you raise your hand, you will leave. " This record shows that the image of a crane as a fairy riding a sacred object appeared in the Han Dynasty. In the picture of immortalization in the Han Dynasty, tomb owners often use supernatural objects to ascend. In addition to the common dragon carts, fish carts and deer carts, cranes are also important carriers of immortalization. Found in the M1 mural of the mural tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty near Yangqiao, Jingbian County, northern Shaanxi Province, there is an image of immortals soaring by cranes (Figure 15); In addition, the mural tomb M1 of Han Dynasty in Haotan, Dingbian County, northern Shaanxi Province is also painted with an image of a pair of immortals driving cranes to escort the tomb owner to Tianmen. It is the dream of the Han people to fly to immortality after death. The contents of the murals in the above two Han tombs are the same. The method of depicting the crane pattern on the pottery stove reflects the tomb owner’s desire to fly the crane to immortality from another aspect.

Fig.15 A painting by a fairy in Hebi, M1 of the Eastern Han Tomb beside Yangqiao, Jingbian County, Shaanxi Province.

The practice of decorating que Lou, crane and dragon-headed chimney on pottery stoves in Yan ‘an area reflects the good wish of Han people to ascend to heaven after death, and is the embodiment of Taoist immortal thought in local funeral customs. In addition, Quelou, crane design and dragon-headed chimney, three decorative themes closely related to the idea of immortalization, appeared on the pottery stove at the same time, but rarely appeared on other types of funerary objects such as pottery warehouses and bottles. This difference reflects the particularity of the pottery stove in the system of funerary objects in this area, and it is likely to be an important carrier of the idea of immortalization, which is not seen in other areas.

(This article was originally published in the Journal of the National Museum of China, No.4, 2019, by the School of Cultural Heritage of Northwest University)